The Holy Spirit: Bringing the Spirit to Others

With today being Pentecost, I’ve been noodling over a post about the Holy Spirit. I wanted to write about how we bring it to those around us, but couldn’t come up with a solid idea until I saw my son in action.

If you are anything like me, it is one thing to forgive someone who has wronged you, but another altogether to forgive someone who has messed with your kid. Let’s just say that I can be a truly impressive Mama Bear.

Friday afternoon, I dropped my son off for a Scouting trip. I was helping load gear when I heard them call out car pools. I was sure I must have heard something wrong, but no. They had put my son in the same car as the boy he’s had so much trouble with. We had talked to the Scout master who had spoken with the other parents, but could I trust that things would be better? Now, I could do something about it, but later it would be completely out of my hands.

My first instinct was to step in and protect. Of course, this would mean labeling the other boy. Undesirable.

Instead of saying something to the Scout master, I decided to feel my son out. He knows me so he knows I have his back. If he wanted me to step in, I would. He held my gaze and looked me in the eye. “It’s been better, Mom. I want to give him a chance.”

He wanted to show Grace.

I had to take a deep breath first, but then I nodded.

We all make mistakes. There are times we are just mean. But when we ask, God gives us a second chance. When we do this with other people, we show them the strength and majesty of the Holy Spirit, the God of second chances.